[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 213 (Monday, November 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62489-62490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5464]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


60-Day Notice of Intention To Request Clearance of Collection of 
Information; Opportunity for Public Comment

AGENCY: Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
and 5 CFR part 1320, Reporting and Record Keeping Requirements, the 
National Park Service (NPS) invites public comments on a proposed new 
collection of information (1024-xxxx).

DATES: Public comments on the proposed Information Collection Request 
(ICR) will be accepted on or before January 4, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Send Comments to: Dr. Jane Swanson, Protected Area Social 
Research Unit, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, 
Seattle, WA 98195; via phone at 206/685-9150; via fax at 206/685-0790, 
or via e-mail at [email protected]. Also, you may send comments 
to Leonard Stowe, NPS Information Collection Clearance Officer, 1849 C 
St., NW., (2605), Washington, DC 20240, or by e-mail at [email protected]. All responses to this notice will be summarized and 
included in the request for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval. All comments will become a matter of public record.
    To Request a Draft of Proposed Collection of Information Contact: 
Dr. Jane Swanson, Protected Area Social Research Unit, College of 
Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195; via 
phone at 206/685-9150; or via e-mail at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. James Gramann, National Park 
Service Social Science Program, 1201 ``Eye'' St., Washington, DC 20005; 
via phone 202-513-7189; or via e-mail at [email protected]. You are entitled to a copy of the entire ICR 
package free of charge.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Research Assessing Current and Potential Impacts of Cruise 
Ships on Visitor Experiences in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.
    Bureau Form Number(s): None.
    OMB Number: To be requested.
    Expiration Date: To be requested.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Description of Need: The proposed study would provide information 
to be used in deciding cruise ship use levels in Glacier Bay National 
Park. The purpose of this research is to provide Park managers with 
information about current impacts of cruise ships, if any, on the 
quality of visitor experience and to estimate potential impacts on the 
quality of visitor experience for cruise ship use levels specified in 
the Record of Decision (Record of Decision for Vessel Quotas and 
Operating Requirements in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, 
2003).
    The Final Environmental Impact Statement for Vessel Quotas and 
Operating Requirements, and the resulting Record of Decision signed 
November 21, 2003, currently guide vessel management in Glacier Bay 
National Park and Preserve (GLBA). The Record of Decision (Record of 
Decision for Vessel Quotas and Operating Requirements in Glacier Bay 
National Park and Preserve, 2003) adopted an alternative that maintains 
the current daily maximum of two cruise ships in the park and sets 
seasonal use days for the June-August season at 139 ships. The Record 
of Decision also provides for possible increases in cruise ship use. 
Specifically, use in the June-August season could be increased to two 
ships per day, every day for a seasonal use total of 184 ships. The 
Record of Decision for Vessel Quotas and Operating Requirements in 
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (2003) provided the following 
direction for the role of research in the process of changing quotas 
for cruise ships.

    The determination of whether to increase seasonal-use day quotas 
for cruise ships will rely on criteria that define the environmental 
and social conditions to be met before any additional seasonal-use 
days are approved. These criteria will be based on the results of 
and guidance provided through studies that examine the effects of 
vessels on all park resources and visitor experience. (p.18).

    The Record of Decision also specified that the studies examining 
the effects of cruise ships would be identified with the assistance of 
a Glacier Bay Vessel Management Science Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB 
was established and a final report of their findings and 
recommendations was published in September 2005 (Glacier Bay National 
Park Science Advisory Board: Final Report, 2005). The SAB recommended a 
comprehensive research program that was presented in general terms with 
no prioritization or cost estimates. Because the research program 
outlined in the SAB could not be performed within the time and budget 
limitations facing park managers, the SAB recommended (and park 
managers agreed to fund) a social research problem analysis. Upon 
review of the final Program Analysis, park staff decided on a research 
program that would focus primarily on measuring impacts of cruise 
ships, if any, on the quality of visitor experience and secondarily on 
understanding the context in which cruise ship impacts occur and how 
these impacts arise. To accomplish these objectives, this proposed 
research includes the following components. (1) Assessment of cruise 
ship impacts, if any, on the quality of visitor experience. (2) The 
role of experience gatekeepers in visitor encounters with cruise ships.
    1. Assessing impacts of cruise ships, if any, on the quality of 
visitor experiences in Glacier Bay proper.
    The purpose of the proposed study is to provide park managers with 
information about a variety of potential impacts of cruise ships on all 
visitor groups that have potential to encounter a cruise ship in 
Glacier Bay proper. Information about impacts of other mechanized 
transport, if any, on the quality of visitor experience will also be 
collected (1) to provide a context for understanding the role of cruise 
ships on the quality of visitor experience and (2) to examine aggregate 
effects of

[[Page 62490]]

mechanized transport on the quality of visitor experience. This 
research proposed for the 2008 summer season, will use on-site and mail 
questionnaires to gather data for estimating impact rates for different 
user groups. Additionally, in-depth interviews with visitors will 
provide additional information about how these impacts arise and 
visitors' opinions of increasing cruise ship size. Finally, itinerary 
data will be collected from captains of charter and tour boats and from 
kayak guides to obtain more reliable itinerary data than visitors 
aboard these vessels would likely provide.
    2. The role of experience gatekeepers in visitor encounters with 
cruise ships.
    Discussions with experience providers indicate that these 
individuals may adjust itineraries in an effort to provide visitors 
with a particular experience. Often that experience is one where few 
other vessels are encountered. Understanding these practices and how 
the increase in 2-cruise-ship days may affect them are the primary 
objectives of this research component. This information will be 
integral when estimating population impacts under the 2-cruise-ships 
every day scenario. Gatekeepers identified include charter and tour 
boat captains, kayak guides, and VIS staff who issue permits and 
provide guidance to kayakers and captains of private vessels. 
Interviews, to be conducted during the summer 2008 use season, will 
rely on an open-ended, in-depth process.
    Comments are invited on: (1) The practical utility of the 
information being gathered; (2) the accuracy of the burden hour 
estimate; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden to 
respondents, including use of automated information collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Before including 
your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal 
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your 
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public 
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Automated data collections: This information will be collected via 
in-person interviews and surveys. No automated data collection will 
take place.
    Description of respondents: Component 1--survey and interviews: 
Cruise ship passengers, tour boat passengers, charter boat passengers, 
people entering on private vessel permits, and people entering on 
backcountry permits who visit Glacier Bay proper between June 1, 2008 
and August 31, 2008.
    Component 1--itinerary data: Charter and tour boat captains and 
kayak guides who serve visitors included in the survey component of the 
project.
    Component 2: Charter and tour boat captains, kayak guides, and VIS 
staff who serve visitors to Glacier Bay proper during the 2008 summer 
season.
    Estimated average number of respondents: Component 1: 2780 
respondents for on-site survey; 1492 respondents for mail survey; 75 
respondents for interviews; 24 respondents for itinerary date. 
Component 2: 27.
    Estimated average number of responses: Component 1: 2780 
respondents for on-site survey, 1492 respondents for mail survey; 75 
respondents for interview; 24 respondents for itinerary data.
    Component 2: 27.
    Estimated average burden hours per response: Component 1: 3 minutes 
for on-site survey respondents; 25 minutes for mail questionnaire; 60 
minutes for interview respondents; 15 minutes for itinerary 
respondents. Component 2: 30 minutes.
    Frequency of Response: 1 time per respondent.
    Estimated total annual reporting burden: 855 hours.

    Dated: September 13, 2007.
Leonard E. Stowe,
NPS, Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 07-5464 Filed 11-2-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-M